Helen Richardson Walsh
Gold Medallist & Motivational and Equality Speaker
Helen Richardson Walsh won a Gold Medal as part of the GB women’s hockey team at the 2016 Olympics and is a keynote motivational speaker and speaker on equality.
Helen has competed in four Olympic Games and was the youngest ever woman to represent GB hockey at an Olympics in 2000.
The significance of her gold in 2016 was made all the more memorable as she was part of the first same-sex married couple to win an Olympic medal playing for the same team. Her wife was GB captain Kate Richardson-Walsh, and they entered history when they stepped onto the podium.
Alongside her Gold at 2016, in total over her 17-year career she won a Commonwealth bronze and two silvers, a bronze at London 2012, and the European Championship title in 2015.
She managed this all despite missing two years out of the game due to two rounds of back surgery, and surgery on her ankle. There was a very strong possibility at the age of 23 she may never play again, but she showed significant psychological and physical strength and managed to return to the team after a two-year absence.
Helen has now stepped down from International duty with over 300 caps and recently completed a degree in psychology, inspired by her experience in battling back from the doubts of her injury, and her experience of elite performance and winning teams.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Helen Richardson Walsh speaks about her success at the 2016 Olympic Games and how a combination of team values, behaviours and tactics can create a winning culture ‘Be the Difference, Create History and Inspire the Future’ was their team mantra.
Helen has spoken at numbers events across the UK, and her speaking topics include –
• Sustaining peak performance
• Coming back from adversity
• Inspiring a generation
• Persistence
• Diversity as a driver of peak performance
• Psychology of a team – vision, values, and behaviours
I have asked Helen Richardson to speak on a number of occasions about her experiences as an elite athlete. Each time she has tailored her speech to suit the audience, which has included children, parents, volunteers & PE students. She has the ability to engage her listeners instantly; she is always interesting and has a very good sense of humour. She has also been truly inspiring- such a good positive role model for young people. I have no hesitation in recommending her as a speaker to any group in the future.
— Jo Mould - Head of Girls' PE & Games at Leicester Grammar School
“James was a star, as ever. His presentation was interesting, sharp,
informative, succinct and to the point. The audience asked some great questions so all in all he went down a storm.”
— Lucy Moss Event Coordinator Business Connections
"Not only is your presentation being widely discussed at all levels within the legal sector, but many who attended the event have stated they took away an amazing amount of information. Your presentation has been rated by the attending delegates as ‘Excellent’. This I have found to be a rarity within the legal events market, as typically senior management from the sector tend to be extremely critical of most presenters, especially those from outside of the sector.”
— Darren Armstrong, MD Netlaw
